The Grant Park Music Festival (the Festival) in Chicago, Illinois seeks a part-time Fellowship Manager.

For more than ten years, the Grant Park Music Festival has offered a Fellowship program that provides training opportunities aimed at guiding early career musicians toward successful careers in the orchestral field. Each year, four string players and four vocalists from communities traditionally underrepresented in the orchestral field are selected by the Festival via highly competitive national auditions to rehearse and perform with the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus and receive one-on-one mentoring from seasoned professionals. Fellows serve as an integral part of the Festival’s concert programming, performing in parks and community centers around the city as part of the Festival’s Night Out in the Parks concerts as well as such prestigious concert series as the Classical Music Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts and Rush Hour Concerts.

The Fellowship Manager oversees all aspects of the Fellowships, including recruitment, auditions, scheduling of rehearsals and performances, artistic planning of concert programs, overseeing all operational aspects of the Fellowship during the summer, and Fellowship alumni relations, including managing the Festival’s post-Fellowship program that provides audition support to Festival Fellowship Alumni auditioning for vacant positions in the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus. In addition, the Fellowship Manager will manage all production aspects of the Fellowship chamber music performances through the Night Out in the Parks concerts. Finally, the Fellowship Manager will serve as a mentor to Festival fellows, ensuring they maximize the opportunity provided by the fellowship.

The Fellowship Manager will join our hard-working, collaborative team of 15 year-round staff who are dedicated to bringing Chicagoans together to experience symphonic music outdoors in one of the world’s most magnificent urban settings, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. The Festival team is deeply committed to serving the people of Chicago through our mission of enriching lives through the power of music.

SELECT DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage recruitment process, organize auditions, and ensure the timely selection of fellows.
• Work with the General Manager and park district venues to develop Fellowship season calendar.
• Program repertoire for Fellowship chamber music concerts.
• Monitor private lessons and ensemble coaching sessions to ensure fellows receive expected training. Ensure coaches receive timely compensation.
• Develop and maintain schedule of professional development seminars.
• Manage the logistics for offsite concerts featuring the Fellows, including the Festival’s Night Out in the Parks series. Serve as manager on duty for concerts as assigned.
• In coordination with Marketing department, devise and execute marketing strategy for Night Out in the Parks concert series and track attendance.
• Manage Fellowship alumni audition program, which provides financial and logistical assistance to program alumni taking Festival auditions for vacant positions in the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus.

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, preferably in the performing arts or arts administration. Significant relevant work experience may be substituted for degree.
• Two years of experience in a performing arts organization required.
• Deep understanding of orchestral music with experience working as a professional musician.
• The ability to balance multiple, complex, overlapping priorities while meeting deadlines.
• Meticulous attention to detail and highly organized.
• Outstanding and highly-developed interpersonal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated experience and investment in issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Don’t fit all of the qualifications listed above, but feel passionate about the position? Please apply anyway! We are eager to work with enthusiastic and ambitious people. You may be just the right fit for this role.  

COMPENSATION, BENEFITS & TYPICAL HOURS

• $23 - $26 per hour, commensurate with experience. This position is non-exempt.
• The position will be largely remote from September - May and will be in person at the Festival's office and venues across the city from June - August.
• Time off from June through mid-August is not a possibility with this position.
• Typical weekly hours are as follows:

For more than 90 years, the Grant Park Music Festival has been Chicago's summer musical sensation, demonstrating that classical music performed by a world-class orchestra and chorus can have a transformative impact on the city. Showcased in the city's most spectacular setting, the Festival continues to be the summer gathering place for all of Chicago. The Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park is the official home of the Grant Park Music Festival, with free seats available for every concert.

The Festival strives to create a workplace that reflects the diversity of our city and the audiences we serve. People of all backgrounds and experiences, and especially those that have been historically underrepresented in the field, are encouraged to apply for open positions at the Festival. Read more about our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging HERE.

The Association provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to actual or perceived race (including traits associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists), color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, pregnancy (including childbirth, or medical or common conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth), genetic information, marital status, familial/parental status, disability (physical and mental), military status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, citizenship or immigration status, unfavorable discharge from military service, order of protection status, credit history, arrest record, conviction record, and any other classification/characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

The Festival is led by Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, Chorus Director Christopher Bell, Grant Park Orchestral Association President and CEO Paul Winberg, and Board Chair Adam Grais.

For more information on the Grant Park Music Festival, please visit our website: gpmf.org.